Monday, October 29, 2012

Just for fun (or maybe just to make my brother Jeff super jealous), I decided to visit a few of the Food Network's Man vs Food restaurants on my trips in the last month. Here's the list:

#1 Modern Apizza, Hartford, CT - a pie baked in a brick oven at 825 degrees F...which makes it a little black around the edges. Not the best pizza I've ever had.

#2Louis' Lunch, inventor of the original American hamburger, Hartford, CT

Here the hamburgers are cooked on the original vertical flame grill, and for some reason, the restaurant refuses to serve any ketchup.

The burger and potato salad were ok...the atmosphere might have been better than the food.

#3 Big Jud's, Boise, ID - the burger featured on the show was called the Double Big Jud, which consists of two 1-pound burger patties stacked on top of one another with blue cheese, Swiss cheese, mushrooms, onions and bacon and stuffed inside a large bun. Altogether, the burger weighs roughly 4 pounds (1.81 kg).

There is NO WAY I was gonna try to eat that so I ordered a mini (normal human sized) version of the burger. Delish!

#4 Voodoo Donuts, Portland, OR - this little shop on the corner has more than 70 varieties of doughnuts, including a maple bacon bar with real bacon on top, cap'n crunch cereal toppings, and the voodoo guy himself.

Kinda pricy, they don't take cash, and usually a long line outside just for donuts.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

There are a lot of new movies coming out soon that seem exciting!#1 OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFULWhen small-time magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco) pulls one flimflam too many, he finds himself hurled into the fantastical Land of Oz where he must somehow transform himself into the great and powerful wizard—and just maybe into a better man as well. Opens in U.S. theaters on March 8, 2013.

How can you NOT love James Franco?! He's like my biggest movie star crush.

Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OzTheGreatAndPowerfulFollow on Twitter: Twitter.com/DisneyPictures

#2 LINCOLN

Lincoln was a wise man and favorite president to many. Add an awesome cast to depict his presidency and I think you just might get a great movie!

Steven Spielberg directs two-time Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln,” a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President’s tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.

releases in U.S. theaters exclusive on November 9, 2012, with expansion on November 16, 2012.

Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

The Walt Disney Studios has announced a release date for Marvel Studios’ sequel to the biggest Super Hero blockbuster and third highest grossing film of all time, Marvel’s The Avengers. Joss Whedon returns to write and direct the UNTITLED MARVEL’S AVENGERS SEQUEL set for release May 1, 2015.

#4 WRECK-IT RALPHTired of playing the role of a bad guy, Ralph takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a journey across the arcade through multiple generations of video games to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero.

I've already seen this one and it was awesome! If I was just a wee-kid still and my birthday party was coming up, I'm pretty sure I'd beg my parents for this cake!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Did you know that like 1,479 (give or take a few) popular movie were filmed in Astoria? Seriously. Free Willy, Kindergarten Cop, Short Circuit, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, and The Shining just to name a few. But the most popular one in my book is Goonies! So here is my Goonies Astoria tour.

The opening scene where Mama Fratelli and Frances break Jake out of jail.

Full of fun things to do and memorabilia:

[Chunk glued the statue's penis on upside-down]

Chunk: How's this? Mikey: Oh, you idiot! You glued it on upside-down! Brandon Walsh: If God made it that way, you'd all be pissing in your faces! Chunk: Looks fine to me.

Data's gear

Sloth love Chunk!

Ruth! Ruth! Baby! Ruth!

Mikey's dad's museum

Data's house

Mikey's house

I might have done the truffle shuffle by the gate

And finally haystack rock (which is actually in Cannon Beach not Astoria)

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Since I had a girls' day with my nieces, tonight was supposed to be boys' night with my nephews. However, they decided to fake being sick to miss school and weren't allowed to go out. So...I decided to take some friends to see Wreck-It Ralph.

Ohmygoodness, this movie was super funny...way better than I was expecting.

There were lots of references to old school video games that kept me entertained (like the Contra extra lives code to open the castle, homeless Q*bert, and Bowser blowing fireballs when he was surprised).

Hilarious. Even if you are a kids movie snob, I'm willing to bet $5 that you will enjoy this movie.*

WRECK-IT RALPH smashes into theaters everywhere on November 2nd!!

*I won't really give you $5...but I'll know you have really bad taste if you tell me you don't like it and your opinion will no longer be valid to me.